PEDESTRIAN FEATS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 2, Issue 228, 2 August 1879, Page 3

PEDESTRIAN FEATS.

The pedestrian feats of the present day are (says the Boston .Journal) cast into shade by the recorded exploits of Ernst Mensen, a Norwegian sailor in the English navy, early in the present century. Mensen first attracted attention by running from London to Portsmouth in nine hours, and soon after lie ran from London to Liverpool in 02 hours, Having distinguished himself at the Battle ot Navarino iu 1827, he left the navy and became a professional runner. After winning a number of matches, he undertook the feat of running from Paris to Moscow. Starting from the Place Vendomnie at 4 o'clock in the afternoon of June 11th, 1831, he entered the Kremlin at 10 o'clock a.m. on June 25th, having accomplished the distance of 1760 miles in 13 days and 18 hours. The employment of Mensen as a courier-extraordinary soon became a popular amusement in European Courts. He ran from conntry to country, bearing messages of congratulation, condolence, and despatches, and always beat mounted couriers when matched against them. He never walked, but invariably ran, his only refreshment being one biseut and an ounce of raspberry syrup per day, and two short rests of 10 or 15 minutes each in 24 hours. These rests lie took standing ; and, leaning against a tree or other support, at such times he covered his face with his handkerchief and slept. After the nap he would pursue his way quite as much refreshed as though lie had slept for hours. In 1830, while in the employ of the East India Company, Mensen was charged with the conveying of dispatches from Calcutta to Constantinople through Central Asia. The distance is 5C15 miles, which the messenger accomplished in 59 days, or in one-third of the time made by the swiftest caravan. At last he was employed to discover the source of the Nile. Setting out from Silesia on May 11th, 1843, he ran to Jerusalem, and thence to Cairo and up the western bank of the river into Upper Egypt. Hero, just outside the village of Syang, lie was seen to stop and rest, leaning against a palm-tree, his free covered with a handkerchief- Ho rested si) long that some persons tried to wake him : but they tried in vain, for he was dead. He was buried at the foot of the tree, and it was years before his friends in Europe knew what fate had befallen him.